Eat Outside: P-Town Picnic

Council Crest

At the top of SW Council Crest Drive or Marquam trailhead on SW Terwilliger Boulevard Sometimes, you want to feel like you earned that ham-and-brie sandwich. A three-mile hike up the Marquam Trail means climbing more than 1,000 feet to the West Side’s iconic promontory and its clear-day visual buffet of snowcapped Cascades peaks. Please, feel justified in packing that second pie slice. You’ll burn it off on the descent.

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

SE 28th Avenue & Woodstock Boulevard Not that these nine-plus acres of floral glory in deep Southeast aren’t worth the $3 admission charge, but … pack in dinner after 6 p.m., when entry is free. The tranquil ponds and lush landscaping evoke Japan; the occasional beaver sighting is all Oregon.

Peninsula Park

700 N Rosa Parks Way Dining among roses is a simple act of Portland patriotism; following the crowd is not. So leave overtrafficked Washington Park to the masses and spread a blanket among the 65 varieties abloom in North Portland’s elegant formal garden. With a New Seasons six blocks west, stocking the basket shouldn’t be a problem.

Skidmore Bluffs

At the west end of N Skidmore Court This semi-renegade parkland mere blocks from popular sunset-peeping spot Overlook Park attracts throngs of youthful bohemians with its rustic atmosphere and staggering views. Bring your own ineffable cool; stop at nearby Mississippi Avenue’s Pastaworks for anything edible you might require.

House for Summer, Hoyt Arboretum

4000 SW Fairview Blvd Far away from the busy parts of Washington Park is a fitting place for a pagan ritual, a make-out session, or just a great picnic: artist Helen Lessick’s public artwork House for Summer. Planted in 1987, it comprises 15 Himilayan birch trees trained into the shape of a house. Bring a stick to chase away the gnomes.

This article appeared in the
August 2011
issue of
Portland Monthly
Magazine.